dialyzer

MODULE

dialyzer

MODULE SUMMARY

The Dialyzer, a DIscrepancy AnalYZer for ERlang programs

DESCRIPTION

The Dialyzer is a static analysis tool that identifies software
discrepancies such as type errors, unreachable code, unnecessary
tests, etc in single Erlang modules or entire (sets of)
applications. Dialyzer starts its analysis from either
debug-compiled BEAM bytecode or from Erlang source code. The file
and line number of a discrepancy is reported along with an
indication of what the discrepancy is about. Dialyzer bases its
analysis on the concept of success typings which allows for sound
warnings (no false positives).

use Dialyzer from the command line (no GUI) to detect defects in the
specified applications (directories or .erl or .beam files)

-r applications

same as -c only that directories are searched recursively for
subdirectories containing .erl or .beam files (depending on the
type of analysis)

-o outfile(or --output outfile)

when using Dialyzer from the command line, send the analysis
results in the specified outfile rather than in stdout

--src

overide the default, which is to analyze debug compiled BEAM
bytecode, and analyze starting from Erlang source code instead

--raw

When using Dialyzer from the command line, output the raw analysis
results (Erlang terms) instead of the formatted result.
The raw format is easier to post-process (for instance, to filter
warnings or to output HTML pages).

-Dname(or -Dname=value)

when analyzing from source, pass the define to Dialyzer (**)

-I include_dir

when analyzing from source, pass the include_dir to Dialyzer (**)

-pa dir

Include dir in the path for Erlang. Useful when analyzing files
that have -include_lib() directives.

--output_plt file

Store the plt at the specified location after building it.

--plt plt

Use the specified plt as the initial plt.

-Wwarn

a family of option which selectively turn on/off warnings.
(for help on the names of warnings use dialyzer -Whelp)

--shell

do not disable the Erlang shell while running the GUI

--version (or -v)

prints the Dialyzer version and some more information and exits

--help (or -h)

prints this message and exits

--quiet (or -q)

makes Dialyzer a bit more quiet

--verbose

makes Dialyzer a bit more verbose

--check_plt

Only checks if the init plt is up to date and rebuilds it if this is not the case

--no_check_plt

Skip the plt check when running Dialyzer. Useful when working with installed plts that never change.

--build_plt

The analysis starts from an empty plt and creates a new one from the
files specified with -c and -r. Only works for beam files.
Use --plt or --output_plt to override the default plt location.

--add_to_plt

The plt is extended to also include the files specified with
-c and -r. Use --plt to specify wich plt to start from, and --output_plt
to specify where to put the plt. Note that the analysis might include
files from the plt if they depend on the new files.
This option only works with beam files.

--remove_from_plt

The information from the files specified with -c and -r is removed
from the plt. Note that this may cause a re-analysis of the remaining
dependent files.

--get_warnings

Makes Dialyzer emit warnings even when manipulating the plt. Only
emits warnings for files that are actually analyzed. The default is to
not emit any warnings when manipulating the plt. This option has no
effect when performing a normal analysis.

Note

* denotes that multiple occurrences of these options are possible.

** options -D and -I work both from command-line and in the Dialyzer GUI;
the syntax of defines and includes is the same as that used by erlc.

Warning options:

-Wno_return

Suppress warnings for functions of no return.

-Wno_unused

Suppress warnings for unused functions.

-Wno_improper_lists

Suppress warnings for construction of improper lists.

-Wno_fun_app

Suppress warnings for fun applications that will fail.

-Wno_match

Suppress warnings for pattern matching operations that will never
succeed.

-Werror_handling***

Include warnings for functions that only return by means of an
exception.

-Wunmatched_returns***

Include warnings for function calls which ignore the
return value(s).

-Wunderspecs***

Warn about underspecified functions
(the -spec is strictly more allowing than the success typing)

-Woverspecs***

Warn about overspecified functions
(the -spec is strictly less allowing than the success typing)

-Wspecdiffs***

Warn when the -spec is different than the success typing

Note

*** These are options that turn on warnings rather than
turning them off.

Using the Dialyzer from Erlang

You can also use Dialyzer directly from Erlang. Both the gui and the
command line version is available. The options are similar to the ones
given from the command line, so please refer to the sections above for
a description of these.